When it comes to choosing plants we need to learn to love colour, because the days of the pastel English country garden that looks like a watercolour painting have largely gone. Try to avoid planting only one of each thing as this will resemble a pincushion of dots.

Alas this year it is not to be and we are so very disappointed as for this years Bloom we had teamed up with our very good friend Andrew Dunne of Andrew Christoper Designs so yes we actually had A ‘Caragh Nurseries Garden’

Gardens can gain their focus in lots of ways, some from colour, some from mature planting and some from their formal planting . The art of topiary and Niwaki or Cloud Pruning is an ancient art originated in Japan and are quite literally works of art for the garden.

Topiary is the art of sculpting trees and plants into formal shapes; balls, cubes, pyramids, domes and the like, it can be achieved with lots of plants but buxus or yew is the most common but more unusual options like Beech & hornbeam are very popular. We always have a very good selection of topiary including some less formal options that look great like these off-centred cubes.

There are several species of plant which lend themselves perfectly to becoming cloud trees these include Buxus, Ilex, Juniperus, Pinus and Taxus, all of these being perfectly adaptable to our climate as well as being relatively slow growing and so keep the shapes they have been pruned in to well. Topiary Trees are great for adding both formality and a modern look especially when planted repetitively, we have spirals and multi balls and a mixture of balls and shapes too, again they need very little maintenance other than an annual trim and an occasional feed to keep them in tip-top condition.

The craft of topiary displays a very effective structure of literally – living – garden art. ‘Garden bonsais’ serve as a more informal equivalent to topiary, in Asian and contemporary style gardens and are works of art of their own kind.Specially pruned trees and shrubs can become downright “exterior design pieces”, as cloud pruned bushes and trees or ‘garden bonsais’. These pruning techniques go well with rather informal garden styles and are perfect for all types of modern garden designs.

Cloud pruning or Niwaki originated in Japan, and describes a style of pruning trees to make them resemble clouds. This can be achieved using singular trees or by pruning hedges / plants grouped together. The cloud trees we stock are usually evergreen with a couple of exceptions, and therefore provide a focal point in your garden all year round. They are versatile plants and require very little maintenance, just cutting once a year. To maintain the quality of our plants we hand select every piece especially for its shape and form and ensure that each specimen is carefully pruned prior to its display on our nursery. We currently have a Cloud Pruned trees in Pines, Olives, Beech & Hornbeam, Photinia Red Robin as well as Yew and coniferous plants. We have been importing cloud pruned trees for over Fifteen years into Ireland and we have several specialist growers in three European countries who are experts in their field and so we have benefited from not only the best specimens but also the best knowledge of these plants and how to best look after them.

As well as these shapes we have been lucky enough to work with an amazing artist of plant material who creates such masterpieces. Visitors to our nursery may have seen our horse & jockey topiary or our rugby player but he also creates golfers, tennis players, footballers as well as animals, racing cars and even a grand piano. His work is so very specialist but make great centre pieces for feature gardens and hotels or sporting or activity centres.